


Maybe In Another Universe

by malicioussocks



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Baby Peter Parker, Does this count as a kidfic?, Domestic Bliss, I Don't Even Know, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-07-10 18:56:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19910593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malicioussocks/pseuds/malicioussocks
Summary: A series of interactions between Tony and his biological son Peter.





	1. What If

Tony Stark is a lot of things. He has  _ been  _ a lot of things. But on the long list of titles that the name has cycled through, dad is not one of them, and he figures it never will be. Recently though, he has caught himself wondering what it would have been like to raise a kid; more specifically what it would have been like to raise Peter Parker. He’s not sure why this particular topic has plagued his mind so insistently lately but the only conclusion he can come up with is that it’s probably for the best that he hasn’t had kids yet, and with his track record solidifies the fact that it will never happen. And yet still the speculation continues. It’s not that he thinks he’d be a bad dad it’s… actually, that’s exactly what it is. He likes to think that bad parenting is not hereditary but isn’t it though? Kids are supposed to build their own personality based on their experiences and the people around them, they are influenced by the actions of their parents and so all Tony would be doing is dooming an unsuspecting child to deal with the same bullshit he did. And look how he turned out. Some would say he did pretty well for himself, that he made the best of a bad situation, but that doesn’t seem good enough. All that aside, the fact of the matter is that had Tony raised Peter Parker at any influential age he would have turned out to be a  _ very  _ different kid.

As Tony stood looking at the stars that night, his stomach churned itself into nausea as a thought passes by. In an alternate universe somewhere he would have done it right, in an alternate universe somewhere the perfect Tony Stark could raise a child to be even half as good as Peter Parker. And isn’t that a terrifying idea, that somewhere out in the great beyond there exists a Tony that made all the right decisions, said all the right things and perhaps didn’t change the world but came pretty damn close. 


	2. Multitasking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sat on this for a long time trying to write more but just couldn't so here, take it.
> 
> (also, most of this story is basing on stuff I've seen on the internet, this chapter is inspired by some fan art that I can't find the original link for)

In an alternate universe somewhere the perfect Tony was still far from perfect, some creases you just can’t iron out apparently. For example, the habit of needing to work at all hours despite sleep being vital to sustain your body remains, add to that a seven month old baby that also refuses to sleep at acceptable hours and you’ve got yourself a strangely productive Tony Stark. It doesn’t make sense and it shouldn’t work but it’s like a well oiled machine of his own design. He stands before a holographic screen working on anything and everything while a specially altered ironman gauntlet hovers over his shoulder. The gauntlet is holding a bottle for his son to drink from, it is incredible domestic and exactly the right level of normal that far from perfect Tony craves. 

Don’t get him wrong, Tony is actually pretty content with his current life. He’s got a fiance, friends that he’s comfortably certain won’t betray him, he’s a mentor of a super-teen and is currently not being flooded with enough work to keep him away from the aforementioned people in his life. All in all, he can’t complain. Except that he can and he does. He has spent his entire life refusing to play along with the white picket fence idea of normal and yet he has still ended up halfway there. While he will never settle down in the suburbs with a wife he barely likes, a dog he despises and 1.5 kids he feels that for his brand of normal what he has now is as close as he can be. As a comparison what he’s got is multiple million dollar properties, a fiance he loves, a group of assassins and super soldiers instead of a dog and… 0.05 kids? How much of Peter can he really claim responsibility for anyway? He would claim responsibility for all of him if he could but he feels that breaches the line of ‘occasional mentor’ and ‘people are going to start assuming things’.


	3. One Giant Leap For Mankind

There are certain things that are required of you to learn if you are to stand a chance against the world, just some basic skills to manage life. Top of the list is learning to walk, talk and control your bladder. Tony and Peter are still working on the first one. Tony can still remember the first time he saw Peter roll over and crawl, on paper it doesn’t sound that impressive, but watching the being you created manage things on its own for the first time fills you with an unmatched feeling of pure unaltered pride and joy. People joke about pride and joy a lot, applying it to inanimate objects but Tony is confident that the small jellybean toddler standing a foot in front of him is his only pride a joy, iron man doesn’t even stand a chance.

Tony holds his arms out towards Peter, trying to encourage him to take his first steps. Peter holds on to the lounge and looks nervously between the ground and Tony. He babels for a moment, voicing an unintelligible thought. 

“I know it’s scary bud, but you can do it,” Tony tries. He spots one of Peters favourite toys out of the corner of his eye and reaches for it. Maybe if he offers some incentive.

Peter’s eyes are instantly drawn to the small spider toy and it seems to be the only thing on his mind, completely enraptured by it. He waves one of his arms in the air and lets out an excited babel, taking a slight step forward without realising. 

“Are you trying to get him to walk without me?” Tony whips his head around to Pepper standing nearby the couch. “Are you really still jealous that you missed him standing on his own for the first time that you’re trying to make me miss his first steps?” her tone is joking, with no malice but Tony feigns offence.

With a distraught hand pressed to his heart he says, “I can’t believe you would even say such a thing, I wouldn’t dare!” Their banter however is interrupted by Peter running head first into Tony's chest. “Peter! Great, now we both missed it!” Pepper just laughed as Tony sat the kid down and handed him the toy as a reward, petting his head and beaming despite himself. “FRIDAY you got that?”

“Certainly did sir,”

“Good job kiddo,” He’s half sure Peter didn’t even realise what he’d done, just happy to have his toy. “If you say mum first you’re out of the will, I hope you know that.”


	4. Smug & Guilty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter says some choice first words.

As it happens, Peter’s first word was not mum, it wasn’t even dad. In fact it had nothing to do with either of them at all. Hearing the fumbled words leave his sons lips for the first time stunned Tony into disbelieving silence and slack jawed incomprehension, he was walking the line between smug and guilty if he's honest. 

DUM.E

Tony’s [arguable] first child and Peter’s older brother to some degree. 

DUM.E

Peter’s first word.

DUM.E

Tony didn’t know what to say. But that was okay because DUM.E whirred from beside them and Peter giggled softly before breaking out into full blown laughter when the robot began spinning in circles, probably some form of happy dance, beeping and making what Tony can only assume are excited noises. 

“Okay, okay bud, calm down before you break something or hurt yourself” Tony calls out to the bot who was progressively getting more and more out of control. DUM.E chirps and clicks but slows down and instead just bobs his head. “Hey, Fri? Do me a favor and call Pepper,”

“What can I do for you Tony?”

“Pep, you won’t believe it!” Tony doesn’t leave room for her to respond, just barrels on excitedly, “Peter said his first word and I really don’t know if I should be proud or concerned but he actually spoke!”

“Jesus, he didn’t swear did he?”

“God, no; he said DUM.E! Quick, Peter,” Tony rushes over to the boy from his pacing around the room and tickles his tummy, “Can you say DUM.E?” 

Peter looks at his father with a cutely confused expression, his little mouth just ajar. The robot in question whirrs off to the side, trying to contribute to the conversation.

“Come on Peter, don’t get shy now,” Tony attempts to coax the word out of the boy by over exaggerating the pronunciation but Peter just moves his mouth around, not even making a sound.

“Tony, you don’t have to get him to say it again, I believe you,” Pepper interrupts

“Would you like me to play the audio recording?” FRIDAY suggests,

“No that’s alright, I’m sure I can listen to it when I get home later, hopefully from the little man himself,”

“You won’t believe how adorable it was Pep!” 

Just as Tony was about to go off on another rare but welcome tangents about how cute his son is he was cut short by the very boy he was speaking of.

“Arc reactor!” the words came out as an excited shout, fumbled but unmistakable, the word reactor sounded more like just ‘waktor’ but the silence that spread around the room was telling enough. 

“Oh no…”

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea what this is, I had an idea and I was going through some Tony feels and then this happened. Get ready to travel to an alternate universe for the next few chapters.


End file.
